


Why Marrying Into The Fire Nation Royal Family Is Not A Good Idea (On Hiatus)

by Mockingjay468



Series: A Step-By-Step Guide To The Balance Of The Universe [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Airbending & Airbenders, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fire Nation Royal Family, Firebending & Firebenders, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Lu Ten (Avatar) Lives, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Ursa (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:20:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24291958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mockingjay468/pseuds/Mockingjay468
Summary: Despite popular belief, the Airbenders were not all wiped out.Despite unpopular belief, some people in the Fire Nation are not nice people.Ru Mitsuko is about to find out both these things out.She didn't really want to.
Relationships: Azulon/Ilah (Avatar), Iroh/Iroh's Wife (Avatar), Lu Ten/Original Character(s), Lu Ten/Original Female Character(s), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Ozai/Ursa (Avatar)
Series: A Step-By-Step Guide To The Balance Of The Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1753657
Comments: 10
Kudos: 41





	1. In Which Mitsuko Commits Treason on Multiple Levels, Makes Her First Ever Friend And Might Have Died

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! New story!  
> In the Avatar Universe now.  
> I always wondered about the Airbenders, and I love the Fire Nation Royal Family. And I wanted quite a lot of other things which are going to turn up as well. (It also won't just be OC's, although I do like a good OC).  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Ru Mitsuko was no idiot.

She had grown up in Caldera, the daughter of one of the most influential political families in the entire Fire Nation. When she was older, she was due to inherit her mother’s ministership, and, if her aunt Oka continued to be unwed, and subsequently without an heir, she was also due to inherit the Governorship of Kosoto Island.

She had been trained in everything a Lady of the Court may require – the plentiful etiquette procedures of the various ceremonies that were observed; the most important languages of the world; exactly how to convince someone to your side in an argument; the correct way to throw a knife, and to wield a sword, and to fire a bow; how to hide any and all emotion; history of the world; various calligraphy styles; economics; mathematics – the list goes on.

And she had taught herself things, over the years – how to spy on someone without being caught; how to lie with a smile on your face; how to forge handwriting; how to read a person’s body language.

As well as this, she had been taught the less important things, that her mother still considered to be essential in her education – various bending forms (even though Mitsuko had never bent before in her life); meditation; Pai Sho; the ancient art of tea making: and, most curiously, ballet.

When she had asked Hema, her tutor, the woman had simply pursed her lips and told her to do her port-de-bra again.

So no, Ru Mitsuko was not an idiot.

That did not mean that she always did the clever thing, and it certainly didn’t mean that she had any inhibitions.

“Are you sure this is way?” The prince asked incredulously, and Mitsuko gestured to shush him, as a guard passed where they were hiding in the bushes.

“Not really my Prince, no.” She said once they had passed, and they were back on the road. “I’ve barely been beyond the outskirts of the city, let alone down the mountain. But you had already snuck out of the Palace, and I felt it my duty, as your loyal servant, to help you on your way.”

Mitsuko had found the Prince wandering around the Caldera Markets, looking fairly lost, and had recognised him on sight. She had seen him in the Palace corridors on the few times that her mother had allowed her to accompany her to a lower level meeting, and Ru Lai had pointed him out.

As Prince Lu Ten was far more interesting than most of the officials her mother wanted her to remember, it was exceedingly easy to recognise him.

Mitsuko herself was also, technically not meant to be out of the house, but it was Hema’s day off, and her mother was at court, and there was nothing to do after she had done her exercises and her work. So, avoiding the few guards that were stationed at the entrance, the small 14-year-old had changed from her training clothes, into something that would blend in better with the crowds of the Capital City, hidden a few knifes on her person, and climbed out of the window, and over the back wall, leaving her with a few coins and an entire afternoon to herself.

And then it had started raining.

Normally, Mitsuko exalted the rain. Living in the Fire Nation, the rain was always warm and fell with satisfyingly large drops onto your head, soaking you almost instantly, making it a good reason to go home, draw a hot bath and soak in it for a while, before curling up in front of the fire with a good scroll.

However, this meant that she had to bring her excursion to a rather abrupt halt, as it was no fun to be in town while everyone – including the stall owners – were inside.

 _That_ brings us back to the prince.

For, as Mitsuko turned around, she saw him looking up at the sky as if it had wronged him personally, at the same time as looking perfectly miserable.

And she also saw a group of guards turning the corner.

It was at that moment that all logic fled her.

Because, in that moment, instead of thinking – as any upstanding citizen of the Fire Nation should – that this was Palace business, and she should allow it to continue as it was, Mitsuko’s first instinct was to dart forward and pull the Prince into a nearby alley.

It was accomplished on some half formed thought that the guards knew what she looked like, and they might take her home too. Which was where she wanted to go, but if _they_ took her, her mother would find out and Mitsuko did _not_ want to disappoint her mother. It simply wasn’t done.

Somewhere, in the murky depths of her mind, she had assumed that the Prince had also snuck out, meaning that he too wanted to avoid the guards.

So it wasn’t her finest moment.

“Wha-” The Prince began, blinking rain out of his eyes in surprise, but Mitsuko shook her head, slightly wildly, pointing to the patrol, while also searching for a way to climb out of this alley, if it turned out that the Prince _wasn’t_ avoiding the authorities.

Thankfully, he was, which would make her keeping him quiet about all this a significantly easier task.

He leant back into the shadows with her as the guards passed, only turning to her once they were safely out of sight and earshot. At this point, so as not to risk offence of even a young Royal who could probably do nothing about her lack of respect, she bowed low, rising when only told to in the Prince’s clipped tones.

He stood straight and stared her down with an impressive glare, that was probably genetic, with what little she had seen of the rest of his family. It was actually fairly threatening, even on the face of a boy no older than herself, who’s entire being was well and truly soaked.

“Who are you?” He asked, crossing his arms, and blocking the entrance to the alley. Mitsuko stared back for a moment, with her eyes narrowed.

“Ni Miki, my Prince.” She said eventually, and although the Prince clearly didn’t believe her, her claim was not contested.

“Alright _Ni Miki_ ,” Mitsuko could hear the contempt dripping from the name, “Why did you pull me into this alley?” The Prince’s fingers were fidgeting slightly, agitatedly ready to fight if the need was there.

Mitsuko did some very quick thinking.

Lying to royalty was treason – but she had already done that – and while it was fairly lame to tell the truth, nothing was successfully coming to mind that was a better story.

“I made an educated guess that you didn’t want to meet the guards. I highly doubt you are allowed out of the Palace without some sort of company.”

For a very small moment, the Prince’s demeanour dropped revealing his surprise, but then it was back, and he lifted his chin obstinately.

“Well, I thank you. But I really should be going.” He spun on his heel, before turning back. “Do you happen to know the way to the Memorial Ground?” He asked, sheepishness creeping into his voice.

Mitsuko contemplated telling the truth and telling him that no, she didn’t, but that could probably be considered a slight against his honour, so she nodded, containing a wistful sigh. She really just wanted to go home, but woe betide anyone who denied the royal family. The Prince may have been out of the Palace without permission, but he could probably still get her executed or imprisoned for treason.

“Yes. I will take you there if you want.” She bowed. “It would be my honour.”

The Prince looked like he might argue, but Mitsuko was unfortunately not that lucky, as he nodded curtly and gestured for her to lead the way.

And that brings us back to the moment that Mitsuko admitted she didn’t truly know where they were going.

“What did you say?” The Prince exclaimed, stopping short, glaring at her fiercely.

“Look. I’ve been there before, for-” She stopped, and restarted. “Anyway, I know the general direction, and if we get close enough, there should be signs.”

“You _told_ me you knew the way.”

Taking a risk – something Mitsuko was doing in bucket loads today – she ignored him, instead pointing to a sign post. “See. I told you. It says that the Memorial Ground is just down the road.”

The rain had lightened in their trip out of the city, and was now only a faint mist in the air, with the sun shining through the gaps in the clouds. The rain had driven most travellers off the road, causing it to be deserted, so only she heard his annoyed huff.

“That still doesn’t help me.” He said darkly. “Why would you tell me you know the way when you clearly don’t?”

“Mother said that you should never deny the Royal Family anything. Like I said, I know the general direction.”

“You didn’t tell me your real name.” He pointed out after a while.

Mitsuko glanced over, but he wasn’t looking at her. “No my Prince, I didn’t. I don’t want my family to be dragged into anything.”

There was a long stretch of silence, and for a moment, Mitsuko was afraid she had offended him.

She thought back to the supper she had spent with her mother, when she had told her exactly what to do if she ever met a Royal, before dismissing that. If the Prince really cared about stuff like _that_ , he would have never asked for her help.

“Why would your family get dragged into anything?”

Mitsuko was pulled suddenly from her thoughts, and very nearly told him that that was none of his business. But then she stopped herself.

“Well, you’re part of the Royal Family, my Prince.” She said eventually. “And I effectively kidnapped you. If word ever got out, I wouldn’t want them to be dishonoured too.”

“I’m not telling anyone anything.”

“Really?”

“Really.” The Prince agreed. “Anyway,” He added genially, “I’ll be in enough trouble as it is when I get back, it’s not as if I’ll be able to get anyone dishonoured.”

“Then why come out at all?” Mitsuko asked curiously.

“That’s none of your business!” The sudden change in attitude shocked her slightly, and she walked slightly quicker, to retake her position as guide.

 _Agni forbid that I actually think that we were getting along._ She thought bitterly. _Mother was right. Royals are far too uptight._

But then something else her mother said came to her. “Everyone is human, if you give them a chance to be.”

Mitsuko supposed that this was such a situation that required her ‘giving him a chance’. Suppressing another sigh, she put her mind to how exactly do that. What did they both like?

Well, he probably didn’t like ballet, so that was off the table, as was calligraphy (she had been reliably informed by Teja that she was in a very, _very_ small group of people who enjoyed the art – apparently even scribes had a dislike of it). He might, however, like Pai Sho. Hema said it was the preferred game of most of the best tacticians in the world, and the Royal Family were the best of the best.

“Do you like Pai Sho, my Prince?”

“Father says that it is a very important part of my education, and it will help me with my tactical skills.” He said, nearly word perfect to what her mother told her when she complained that she didn’t see why Hema taught her how to play. “But I only really enjoy it because I play with him, and he always makes tea to have while we play.”

Mitsuko took a risk, and fell back into step with the Prince, but he didn’t notice, as he was gazing wistfully into the middle distance. “Of course, we haven’t played since Mother…since Mother died.”

Mitsuko could hit herself for not realising sooner. _Of course_ this was why he wanted to go to the Memorial Grounds. Princess Hotaru’s death had been announced 3 months ago, and Mitsuko should have remembered. It made her previous question really quite insensitive, and it was no wonder that he had reacted as he had. Mitsuko knew the exact feeling.

Although, it brought up the question of why he was sneaking out of the Palace. Surely someone would accompany to visit his mother’s memorial.

“You know,” She said softly, “My father died 2 years ago. It’s perfectly normal to still be sad – I certainly am, particularly when I do something that reminds me of him.”

“But that’s just it.” He said despairingly, stopping abruptly. “I can’t _be_ normal. I have to be Prince Lu Ten of the Fire Nation, and I can’t…I can’t continue to mourn her forever. I need to be strong.” He finished in a whisper. “I was going to ask Father to come to the memorial with me, but then he left for the Earth Kingdom, and when I asked Grandfather, he said that I shouldn’t be so weak, that one day I would inherit the throne, and the Fire Lord cannot be crippled my something as small as grief.”

“To the Spirits with what your Grandfather says!” Mitsuko exclaimed, before remembering the small detail that the Prince’s grandfather was the Fire Lord, a point the Prince had also spotted.

“That’s treason you know.” He pointed out, but if Mitsuko was certain she could hear a spot of mirth in his voice. She shrugged.

“Already _done_ that, if you recall.”

He laughed slightly, and Mitsuko was pleasantly surprised that it was quite a pretty laugh. “I’m sure that I can keep quiet about that.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the tenseness from earlier now gone, replaced by the knowledge that they both had common ground upon which to work.

They turned a corner and from their elevated status, still half way up the dormant volcano Caldera sat in, could see the Memorial Ground laid out in front of them. In the centre, visible even from this distance, was a large statue of Fire Lord Azulon, sat in the centre, and from there spread out to the shore, were hundreds of large, stone monuments, the grander ones in the middle belonging to the oldest and richest families in the city; the smaller, less well preserved ones on the edge the memorials of the lesser families; and those with no families at all had their names carved on the large wall encircling the entire complex. Each building inside had the names and greatest achievements of the dead of the families. With no body to bury, as at the funeral it was cremated, it was the best way you could remember the ancestors, so that they didn’t get Lost.

Mitsuko, of course, could not actually see all this from the distance she was at, but she knew it was there. For the last 2 years, she had visited the Ru Family memorial to pray to Agni to preserve the ancestors souls – and her father’s – on the Day of the Dead. Under normal circumstances, only adults of 16-years-old attended, but with the death of someone close to her, it was only right that she be there too.

It was said that the closer you were to the deceased, the better they would survive in the Afterlife, not getting Lost to the Fogs of the Forgotten. And her father might have been a Ru by marriage, and broken all ties with his far lesser family, but she was his only blood relative who could pray at his Memorial, and thus closer to him than her mother.

“I don’t think I really needed a guide.”

Mitsuko was broken out of her thoughts by the Prince’s statement.

“Maybe. But I…I actually have quite enjoyed myself.” Mitsuko said, realising that she hadn’t thought about going home for at least the last hour. The Prince was far more interesting. And it seemed as if he wasn’t going to act all uppity at her anymore, so she decided to push it. “And I might as well tell you my real name, if you swear not to tell anyone that I technically committed treason.”

“I swear on my honour not to tell anyone that you have committed treason.”

“Your honour?” Mitsuko asked incredulously. “That’s…that’s quite an oath to find out someone’s name.”

The prince didn’t answer, and Mitsuko once again was concerned that she had insulted him, so she snuck a quick look at him. He was looking into the distance, where dark clouds were once again gathering, and his cheeks were tinged pink with what looked like embarrassment.

“Well, you haven’t been sticking to all the correct etiquette throughout all this, and well…I know this will sound stupid…but I was wondering if…if we could be friends?”

“Friends? With you?” Mitsuko blurted out before she could stop herself, and the Prince’s almost wistful expression fell.

“See, I told you it was stupid.”

“No, no, no!” She exclaimed, stopping. “I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just a bit of a surprise. My day, as you might have guessed, has not been exactly normal.”

His face brightened again. “So you will be my friend?”

“Will I have to obey court etiquette?” Mitsuko asked, and the Prince shook his head vehemently. “Only when my family is around, and even then, I think my father is quite lax about such things.”

“Alright then.” She said, after a moments though. “I’ll be your friend.” She placed her hands in the traditional position and bowed. “I’m Ru Mitsuko.”

“The daughter of Minister Ru Lai?” He asked curiously.

Mitsuko nodded, and he grinned. “You are, by definition, one of the most appropriate friends I could have. Now how to get my father to get me to see you without it seeming suspicious.”

“Not to put a downer on things,” I started, “but the Palace has probably noticed your absence, my Prince. You could probably just tell them a truth – or a rather modified truth, if you are determined to keep any perceived treason out of this.”

“I guess. But I have a day off my studies today, and no-one really notices if I don’t appear until supper.” He paused. “ And I’m called Lu Ten – you _can_ call me that, because all this my Prince business gets on my nerves. I have a name, why not just use it?”

“If you so desire.”

They lapsed into another silence, until the sky opened up once again, and it began to start raining again. The Prince – or Lu Ten – to Mitsuko’s surprise, growled. “Rain.” He said, with about as much contempt as you could put into a single word.

“You don’t like it?” Mitsuko asked over the downpour, as they both began to run down the path.

There was a flash of light in the sky and a few moments later a roll of thunder, and Lu Ten’s face brightened somewhat. “Rain sucks, particularly if you’re a Firebender. But it gets a lot better if there’s lightning.”

“Can you…can you create lightning?” Mitsuko asked, curiously, after another crack of thunder.

Lu Ten shook his head. “I can’t. But Dad can and he said he’d teach me when I reached that stage in my training.”

“I wish I was a Firebender.” Mitsuko mumbled, tucking a lock of dark hair back behind her ear. The rain and the running had worked together to well and truly ruin her topknot, but she was trying to keep some semblance of propriety.

“It is pretty cool.” Lu Ten agreed. “Although, don’t you do the self-defence lessons in school, instead of Firebending? What do you do in them? I’ve always wanted to know.”

Mitsuko felt her face heat up, and mumbled something incomprehensible, even without the cacophony of the storm.

“Pardon?”

“I don’t go to school.” She admitted in barely a whisper.

“Really? I thought it was the law?”

Mitsuko rubbed her nose nervously. “Mother got special permission from the Fire Lord. I’m still not sure how or why.”

“Wow.” Lu Ten said in amazement. “I can’t believe you’ve never been to school.”

Mitsuko shrugged, and they fell back into a silence which was covered somewhat by the rain. “What’s…what’s it like?”

“What’s what like?”

“School. You know, since I’ve never been.”

“Well,” He started, “I guess it’s alright. We have lessons in the morning, which change depending on which day it is. Then we have lunch, and after that, we have training.”

“Training?” Mitsuko asked, thinking back to her knife throwing.

“We do a run and then we split off into different sections. Firebenders get firebending training – although I’m far above the rest of the class – and I think the rest of the school do other sports, depending on what they choose. I think that self-defence is the most common option among the student body.”

They fell silent as the gate for the Memorial Grounds appeared.

“I’ll wait for you here, then?” Mitsuko asked, and Lu Ten nodded, walking past her without a second glance.

Mitsuko leant against the stone of the arch, not bothering about the rain falling down her face and her soaked clothes. She shivered slightly – the rain was getting colder and the wind was blowing harder and harder as the thunder and lightning got closer and closer.

“Hi.”

Mitsuko spun around, reaching for her knife, but let her hand drop as she saw it was the Prince – Lu Ten.

“Hi.” She replied. “You ready to go?”

“Hey!”

This time Mitsuko did draw her knife, and the sight of four Fire Nation soldiers did nothing to temper the sudden spike of fear, although the fact that Lu Ten had disappeared _did_.

“You! What are you doing here? The City’s on lockdown.”

Mitsuko feigned confusion, as she internally sighed.

“I’m sorry sir.” She said, in her best ‘I’m-a-little-girl’ voice. Being so small for her age, she could pass off being 10-years-old surprisingly easy. “I was just coming to visit my father. I miss him.” She stared at the ground, letting tears well up in her eyes.

They began to whisper among themselves, and as they did so, Mitsuko glanced in their direction, through the hair that had fallen over her eyes, and hid a smile as she saw Lu Ten sneak past them.

She stood slightly straighter as they turned to her.

+++++

“Is this her?” 

“She’s quite short.” 

“Xi!” 

“Are you sure she’s going to survive?

“Agni wouldn’t have killed her. He knows that she’s one of the last remaining.” 

“He’s the one who let them get killed.”

“Xi, _he_ didn’t get them killed.” 

“Let’s not get into this. Please.” 

“Sorry Dong.”

Mitsuko reached up to rub her head, opening her eyes. Squinting against the light, she pushed herself up, as the speakers quickly hushed each other.

Her eyes adjusted to the soft light, and she got a good look at where she was.

She was lying on a large, circular piece of stone, engraved with various symbols and readings that were lost on her. The circle was at the very tip of a mountain, so high she couldn’t see the ground, covered by large, fluffy clouds, turned pink and orange in the evening light.

In other words, not where she was a moment ago.

She pushed herself to her feet and revolved slowly on the spot, getting a good look at her surroundings.

More confusing than where she was, were the people surrounding her – four of them, at even intervals around her, and _hovering_ above the clouds.

They didn’t look like people either. They all had an odd, ethereal glow around the – not to mention wings and tails.

Mitsuko had very many questions, but she asked none of them.

Instead, she bowed in greeting. The beings around her were either spirits _or_ a figment of her imagination, and it was better safe than sorry.

There was a short snort of laughter, from the being on her left, apparently called Xi, if the horrified exclamation to her right was anything to go by.

Xi shrugged, flicking her tale in what Mitsuko assumed was irritation and crossing her arms.

“I apologise.” A far deeper voice behind her said, and Mitsuko spun around. The man bowed. “I am Nán, spirit of the Southern Wind. That,” He pointed at Xi, who merely nodded coldly, “is my sister, Xi, spirit of the Western Wind. Besides her is Bei, our brother and spirit of the Northern Wind.” He pointed to the man who Mitsuko had been previously been facing, thinner and younger in appearance than his brother. Bei smiled jovially, crossing his legs where he was floating. “And besides him is Dong, our sister and spirit of the Eastern Wind.” The remaining spirit cocked her head at her curiously, her waves of long, golden hair falling to the side.

So, they were spirits. Which meant that Mitsuko was probably in the Spirit World. But she had just been about to talk to some guards outside the Memorial Ground? Which meant…

“Am I dead?” She asked, addressing Nán.

“No. I don’t believe so.”

“But I’m in the Spirit World?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, stop skirting around the problem!” Xi exclaimed, running a hand through her cropped hair, her wings flapping slightly. “No. You are not dead. We just needed you to almost die, and Agni agreed to help us.”

Mitsuko stared at her. “Why?”

“Because,” The calm voice of Dong explained, “When you are half way between life and death, it is far easier to get you to the spirit world. And we needed to talk to you.”

“What about?” Mitsuko asked tentatively.

“You’re Great-Grandmother was an Airbender. She married your Great-Grandfather after the purge. Neither of their children or grandchildren were Airbenders, as she suppressed her abilities to try and protect her new-found family.”

Bei leant an elbow on his knee and put his chin in a cupped hand as his sister spoke. “Yes. The war has brought about an imbalance – all the elements have suffered, what with the Earthbenders being suppressed, the Waterbenders being hunted and the dragons, the only ones who know the true nature of Fire, nearly all wiped out.”

“But Air suffered the worst?” Mitsuko guessed, deciding not to correct the spirit about the dragons – she was certain that Fire Prince Iroh had killed the last one. She knew that the Air Nomads had all been wiped out by Fire Lord Sozin, but she knew very little about what had conspired for this to happen. The Airbenders must have done something truly terrible for the Fire Lord to see the wisdom in killing them all.

Nán nodded gravely. “Yes. It was a genocide brought about by paranoia – Sozin knew that the Avatar would be born into the Air Nomads and so he decided to kill them all.”

“Yes, because the Avatar is evil. He intends to suppress the growth of civilization.”

Xi groaned. “I told you we shouldn’t have chosen her.”

“Xi.” Nán said warningly.

There was silence, which Mitsuko was unwilling to break. She might be in disagreement with these spirits, but they were still spirits, and while Mitsuko may have been taught to speak her mind – which she did regularly with the few servants her mother allowed her to have contact with – she had also been taught to hold her tongue around those who were more powerful than her.

And it was frankly stupid to mess with the spirits.

Bei unfolded his legs, and turned to his less antagonistic sister. “Dong, would you…?”

He trailed off, but the spirit of the Eastern Wind knew exactly what he was asking.

She gently landed on the mountain peak beside Mitsuko, her wings folding in on themselves and offered her hand. “May I please show you something?”

Mitsuko could feel the piercing gazes of each of the other spirits as she stared at the proffered hand. “Why?” She asked, looking up into the spirits eyes.

“We have a request to make of you, and it may be easier for you to make a decision this way.”

Mitsuko should probably not have taken her hand – her mother had told her never to trust strangers – but today was not a day when Mitsuko made reasonable decision.

Today was a day when Mitsuko abducted princes, and snuck out of the house, and got transported to the Spirit World.

Mitsuko took the hand.


	2. In Which Mitsuko Is Not Dead, She Learns Lots Of Things, And Getting Terribly Injured Is Not The Wierdest Thing That Happens To Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!  
> First of all, thank you to everyone who has commented or given a kudos. It absolutely made my day!  
> Secondly, a small disclaimer that all the medical and political knowledge comes from some dubious internet research, so the accuracy may be a little off.  
> Anyway, here's the chapter! I hope you enjoy!

The mountain top around Mitsuko disappeared, and was replaced by the frozen scene of a large collection of buildings on the top of three .

Around her, she could see the warm light of the evening reflecting off of the large stone pillars and bridges connecting the various mountain tops. It was illuminating a scene of women and children and older women and teenagers all wandering around, just doing things – playing, reading, chatting, meditating. And what appeared to be large, flying monsters.

It was also very… _orange_.

“Where are we?” Mitsuko asked, letting Dong’s hand go, looking around in wonder. Just being witness to this freezeframe was so peaceful and felt…right, in a way that she had never felt before.

“The Eastern Air Temple. 90 years ago. The day before Sozin’s comet.”

Mitsuko looked up at the Spirit in shock, her jaw dropping ever so slightly. “No way!” She exclaimed. “The Air Nomads can’t have been this peaceful. Sozin would never have deemed it right to kill them all if they were.”

Dong wasn’t looking at her, but the expression on her face was suddenly so mournful, Mitsuko regretted ever saying anything.

“That didn’t matter to Sozin.”

“But…but he was Fire Lord! The Fire Lord is always right.” Mitsuko spluttered, trying to reconcile that fact with what the Spirit was saying.

She couldn’t.

“The Fire Lord is human. All humans are capable of being wrong, especially those in power.”

“But...” Mitsuko trailed off.

Either the spirit was lying or…

Or she was incorrect.

She wanted to believe the spirits was lying – it would certainly make her head stop hurting – but the longer she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Spirits were, after all, all-knowing. It would only make sense that they knew things she didn’t. And the grief that Dong had portrayed couldn’t have been acted.

But her mother had said that the Fire Lord was always right.

But her mother had _also_ said that spirits were the greatest power in the universe.

“I…I…” She stuttered, before scrunching her hands in her skirt, shaking her head. “I can’t…”

She felt Dong’s soft hand against her cheek.

“Do not worry. We brought you here to tell you that you are descended from these people, and we have done that. When you are of a better piece of mind, we will speak again.”

Dong stepped away and the world faded to black, leaving a confused Mitsuko to fall into unconsciousness.

+++++

The first thing Mitsuko noticed was the intense pounding in her head.

And then the burning pain that began on the left side of her neck, and wound its way down her back to the very heel of her right foot.

She wasn’t entirely sure where she was, but the bed was soft, which was a plus.

She lay there for quite a while – as previously mentioned, she was _comfortable_ , and something told her that opening her eyes would increase the headache, and moving would do little to help the fire burning all along her side and back and leg.

Sure, she was curious as to where she was, and more importantly, _why_ she was there (she knew the spirits were involved _somewhere_ but thinking about that right now did no good things for any of the pain in her body), but those questions could wait.

She heard a door open and close, and footsteps advance onto the bed, and then there was a tired little mumble. A weight Mitsuko had previously not noticed left, letting the mattress spring back up gently.

“Mihir?”

Now, Mitsuko knew that voice, if only she could pinpoint it…

“My Prince.” Ah yes, she had met the Prince, that much she could remember, even if everything else was a bit blurry and trying to remember hurt her head even more. “You have school in an hour.”

There was a soft “Thank you” and then, two pairs of footsteps left, the door opening and closing once again.

Now, when did a Prince of the Fire Nation decide that she was worth his time? Something must have happened during their walk. If only she could remember…

And then, there was also the problem of the spirits. But that made her head hurt, so she pushed it away, so she could talk it through with her mother…

She tried to open her eyes, but found them heavy, as if they had been welded shut, and the effort to try was far too much.

She once again wondered where she was, although she didn’t really care…

Mitsuko once again slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

+++++

The next time she woke up, the pain was significantly less, and she found that she could actually open her eyes.

The room she found herself in was dark, lit only by a few candles on the wall, and decorated only in deep reds and golds. So obviously not her house – her mother had far less obnoxious interior decoration opinions, and Mitsuko knew every inch of her home, having spent so much time in it.

In fact, the room reminded her vaguely of the Royal Palace.

Mitsuko had spent a lot of time in the Palace – although significantly less than her home – as her mother believed in learning on the job, and had taken Mitsuko with her to most of the less confidential meetings since Mitsuko had turned 10. She knew that the East Wing (where Government was held) was practically dripping in the same reds and golds.

But why would she be in the Palace?

She ignored the pain and pushed herself into a sitting position. The untastefully red walls – bar the candles, and two large doors – were empty, but there was a pretty dressing table in the corner, and a large wardrobe beside it, as well as a hard chair beside the bed she was lying in.

It was rather bare, but not at all like a medical chamber, which was even more confusing. Hissing as pain shot down her back, she pushed the sheets off and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She gave her outfit an appraising glance. It was a nightdress of a far nicer shade of red, that tied with a long ribbon just above her waist, and which had a skirt that just brushed the top of her feet.

Shakily, she stood, leaning heavily to her left as the pain in the sole of her right foot flared. She limped over to the door opposite the foot of her bed.

It opened into a washroom, which was decidedly _not_ what she needed right now. Closing the door behind her, she moved over to the other.

As she did so, Mitsuko spotted her reflection in the large mirror above the dressing table.

“Oh no.” She whispered, raising a shaky hand up to the left of her neck, where a pink, spidery pattern adorned her skin. Raising her skirt with trembling hands, she saw the same pattern encapsulating her entire right leg.

“Oh _no_.” She repeated again, staring at her image in the looking glass. “ _Oh no_.”

Apparently, she was incapable at that precise moment in time to utter any other words.

Mitsuko let her skirt go, and sat gently on the bed, now more confused as ever.

What had happened?

The air spirits had mentioned something about Agni, but Mitsuko couldn’t think of any way fire could have done whatever it was that covered her skin. In a morbid way, it was almost pretty, if you ignored the way some of her veins were far more visible than they should have been.

Swallowing, she let the hand that still ghosted over the patch on her neck.

What was frustrating was that _she just couldn’t remember_. Nothing in her memory could tell her why she now had this curious pattern on her skin.

Shocked and confused and frustrated as she was, Mitsuko didn’t notice anyone come in, until she was enveloped in a hug.

“Ru Mitsuko!” Her mother exclaimed, pulling away and glaring at her with half-hearted anger and a large grin over her face.

Mitsuko couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her mother smile so openly and honestly, and in such a way that it made her look so much younger and freer – although, Mitsuko couldn’t tell whether this was because of her ‘injury’ (she still wasn’t certain it even _was_ an injury), or because her mother never smiled. However, knowing that she was likely the cause of this smile, temporarily banished her confusion and caused a warm glow in her stomach.

Lai cupped her daughters face gently in her hands. “You shouldn’t have been out of the house Mitsuko.” She eventually said, putting a hand on her hip, and using the other to push her hair behind her ear. “You know that we have rules, and it’s for reasons like this.”

“I thought it was so that I didn’t get kidnapped or killed?” Mitsuko asked. “I don’t think you could have stopped me being abducted by spirits.”

The smile on Lai’s face froze, and she leaned closer to her daughter, looking her directly in the eyes. “Do not tell _anyone_ about that, understand?”

Mitsuko nodded, leaning back slightly, suddenly quite afraid of her mother. But then Lai leant away again, and the smile on her face was natural and warm, if somewhat smaller and more guarded.

“Yes, well, I’m just glad you’re alright. I must thank the Spirits that you had Prince Lu Ten with you, he was quite insistent that you were looked after properly, and with the same care as any royal.”

Mitsuko bit her lip – stopping as her mother gave her a pointed look. “I really wish I knew why, but everything is a bit jumbled in my head at the moment.”

Lai patted Mitsuko’s cheek. “I’m sure it’ll come to you Sweetie.” Her eyes unfocused and she straightened up. “Now, I have to get going. Hema will get mad if I don’t eat lunch, and I want to come visit you again before my next meeting. I’ll bring some clothes, and tell the healer that you have woken up.” She bent down and kissed her daughter gently on the forehead. “I’ll see you later.”

And then she swept out of the room, leaving Mitsuko rather dazed where she was sitting.

This time, she actually heard the door open, and a young woman stepped in, an uncomfortably large smile on her face.

“Good Morning Miss Ru!” She said chirpily, dropping her bag unceremoniously on the chair. “I am Healer Go Tanvi. Now, lightning strikes are not the worst burns you can get-”

“I got hit by lightning!?” Mitsuko exclaimed, staring at the Healer incredulously. “You don’t survive getting hit by lightning.”

Healer Tanvi, it turned out, was completely unperturbed by this. “Oh, it’s been seen before. It’s very, very uncommon, and you only survived because Agni must have blessed you-”

“I am _not_ blessed by Agni.”

Healer Tanvi nodded sincerely. “There’s no other explanation. The scarring doesn’t seem to have gotten infected, and your heart didn’t stop beating, or anything like that.”

“What?”

“It’s absolutely fine! I just need to check that nothing bad has happened to the scar, and if everything is ship shape, then I can send you on your way.”

It was incredibly awkward, and Healer Tanvi just. Kept. _Talking_.

Things Mitsuko learnt about Healer Tanvi:

  1. She has 3 pet Komodo Chickens, a pet Eagle Hawk and a pet Bat Dog.
  2. She has three children: a 7-year-old boy called Go Bhanu; a 4-year-old girl called Go Shingi; and a nearly-1-year-old baby girl called Go Hoshi.
  3. She lives on the outskirts of Caldera City.
  4. She spent 3 years in an Academy after school, training to be a Field Medic for the war, but instead got employed by the Royal Family.
  5. She got married in the last year of her training, to a man called Gopan from the colonies.
  6. She really, really enjoys talking about her family.



She wasn’t entirely sure what to do with all this information, and was very glad when Healer Tanvi had finished her examination.

“You are going to be right as rain in no time!” She said, patting my shoulder. Mitsuko leant away from her awkwardly. “I talked with your mother, and I’m going to come and check up on you in a week at your house. But so long as you don’t do anything too strenuous and keep your weight off of your right foot, everything should be absolutely fine!”

Her cheeriness was beginning to grate on Mitsuko’s nerves somewhat, and the healer got into her personal space _way_ too much.

Thankfully, at that moment, Mitsuko’s mother took the opportunity to knock on the door, and Tanvi stood up to go grate on the nerves of someone else.

Once she was gone – and Mitsuko could actually hear herself think – Lai passed her daughter a pile of her best robes.

“Go, have a quick bath and wash. Then, get into these and I’ll do your hair. The Fire Lord has requested your presence in an hour and a half, and you must look your best.”

“The Fire Lord wishes to speak with me?” Apparently, Mitsuko’s day had not yet reached its weirdness limit yet.

“Yes, yes.” Lai said irritably, pushing her in the direction of the washroom. “I’ll explain once you’re changed.”

The joys of being in the palace meant that she didn’t have to help Takumi lug buckets of boiling water up the stairs if she wanted a hot bath, as the palace used a collection of metal pipes to transport water around the place.

Mitsuko spent the ten minutes it took to fill the tub staring at the pouring water in wonder.

The bath was relaxingly warm when she stepped in, and she quickly washed, scrubbing her unblemished skin and gently patting at the scarred area.

When Mitsuko was done, her make-up on and dressed in her robes, she limped out of the bathroom. Her mother was waiting, sitting on the bed, various scrolls laid out around her, and Mitsuko perched on the small chair to examine them as she dried her hair with a towel.

“Are these the biannual fishing reports?” She asked, taking in the lists of figures.

Lai nodded distantly.

“That can’t be right…Jang Hui, Wi Zan, Kasare…in fact, all the fishing villages along the Jeng Hui river…and the Xa Wu river.” Mitsuko paused in her drying. “But the Nuchona Island Province always has an overabundance of fish, and it’s the fishing season. The revenue has decreased far too much for these figures to be correct.”

“I’m aware, Sweetie.” Lai said absently. “I’m bringing it up in the next meeting. Which reminds me.” She rolled up the scrolls and pushed them into her bag. “Turn around, I’m going to do your hair.”

“The Fire Lord wishes to speak with me?” Mitsuko prompted , as her mother pulled a comb through her hair. Mitsuko was quite glad that her mother was doing her hair, as it was relaxing and Mitsuko wasn’t as good as her mother at putting it up into a topknot.

“Yes. I’m not sure why, but I have no doubt it will be about why you were with his grandson.”

“Ah. That makes sense.”

“Yes, when they found out he was missing, the entire city was locked down. I had to stay in the Palace, as I was at a meeting when the Lockdown was called, and then I was told that you were with the Prince, and had been hit by lightning.”

“But nothing else?”

Mitsuko saw Lai shake her head in the mirror. “No. Except that they wanted to look after you here.”

They fell silent as Lai carefully pulled her hair into a top knot, leaving half her hair down. Mitsuko smiled once she was done, and rose gracefully.

“I had better be going then.” She said, before bowing slightly. “I’ll see you at supper.”

“Yes. And then…and then we will talk about who you met.”

Mitsuko nodded once. “Of course Mother.” She didn’t let herself be cowed by the stare that her mother was giving her, the stare that seemed to look into your very soul, and was used regularly on unwitting members of court, who quickly folded beneath it.

+++++

“Rise.”

Mitsuko, keeping her face completely impassive, knelt up, folding her hands in her lap, and training her eyes at the base of the flames rising around the Fire Lord.

“You were with my Grandson, were you not, before you were struck by lightning?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Mitsuko agreed, swallowing nervously.

There was a heavy silence, and even though she could only see a silhouette of the man through the roaring fire, Mitsuko could feel his eyes boring into her.

“You don’t attend school, do you?”

“No, my Lord.”

The suffocating silence fell again, and under the gaze of the Fire Lord, Mitsuko was beginning to feel awfully small, like the flickering shadows in the corners of the room could envelop her if she made a wrong move.

“Please, give me a recount of the night.”

“Of course, my Lord,” Mitsuko said, “Although, my recollection of events is somewhat unclear, as a result of my injury.”

It had been a frustration to find out that she couldn’t remember. She had inherited her mother’s memory, and prided herself on her ability to recite poetry or numbers after only one read through, so being unable to fully recall what had transpired was annoying and a blow to her pride.

She took a steadying breath.

“I had left my house around the time the sun set. I wanted to go to the market, I think, but it started raining. I was going to go home, but before I could, I met Prince Lu Ten. I believe that he asked for my assistance in finding the Memorial Grounds. I helped him, and then we met a passing group of soldiers. That is all I can really remember, my Lord.”

The silence settled over her again, and Mitsuko took another steadying breath.

“I would like for you to now attend school. I will talk to your mother, but I feel that it would be important for you to strike up an accord with Prince Lu Ten.”

He offered no explanation for this, and Mitsuko asked for none.

“You may leave.”

She once more prostrated herself on the ground, before standing and swiftly exiting. When she was safely out of sight and sound of the Throne Room, she slumped against the wall. Those 10 minutes had possibly been the most exhausting of her life.

+++++

Supper was a rather silent affair, even if the food was delicious as always.

Mitsuko’s mother spent a lot of her time examining the scrolls of various biannual reports from around the Fire Nation and her colonies, and when she wasn’t doing that, giving Mitsuko examining stares, which reminded her of the lightning scar and its continuous, gentle throbbing.

Mitsuko just wished she would say what was on her mind, instead of handing her the rice yields for the Luntu Island Province, for her to examine and note down discrepancies.

Eventually, however, Lai put the records to the side. She stood, with the grace and elegance born into a Lady of the court, and crossed the room, pulling the drapes closed and locking the main door, and the servants door into the room, dropping the keys into a hidden pocket in her kimono.

Once she had finished, she dragged a chair across the room, and balanced on it precariously, opening a hidden panel in the wall with a key hung around her neck. Reaching in, she took out a bunch of scrolls, old and dusty, but in obvious good condition.

Mitsuko watched her mother do this with mounting confusion and no small amount of dread. She had never seen her mother so diligent against eavesdroppers. Whatever had been in that hidey hole was certainly something Ru Lai should _not_ have in her possession.

Not bothering to move the chair, Lai sat next to her daughter and laid the scrolls out for her to see.

“What are these?” Mitsuko asked, ghosting a finger over the nearest.

“Airbending scrolls.”

Mitsuko gasped. “But those are…!” She began to exclaim, but her mother clamped a hand over her mouth, hushing her.

“Illegal, I know. Why did you think they’re in a secret compartment in the Dining Room?”

“But why?” Mitsuko asked, lowering her voice, before it dawned on her. “The spirits said that my Great-Grandmother was a Airbender.”

Lai nodded. “Yes. I was going to tell you at your Coming of Age, like my father did for me and your Aunt, and his mother did for him. But the spirits came to you earlier, so it falls to me now.” She took a deep breath. “I requested to the Fire Lord that I home school you, because I said that I wanted you to learn first-hand how to be the Minister of Agriculture and that that would be the best way. It is not the full reason.”

Mitsuko stared at her mother, wide-eyed.

“It is because, at school, you are taught how Fire Lord Sozin vanquished an Air Nomad Army that was planning on destroying us. You are taught that the Avatar is the antithesis of good in this world. And I needed you to know the truth.” Lai grabbed Mitsuko’s wrist, and looked her directly in the eyes. “Fire Lord Sozin was power hungry, and killed and hunted down a perfectly peaceful people so as to destroy the Avatar, the only one who could stop him in a conquest of the world.”

Mitsuko pulled her arm out of her mother’s grip, and pushed her chair back. “But you said that the Fire Lord was always right.”

Lai nodded. “I did. And I needed you to believe that when you were younger and couldn’t hide your feelings. But now you can. The Fire Lord is human, just like anyone else, and he can easily be wrong.”

“So the war…”

“The war is not about spreading our advances.”

“It’s about taking over the world.”

Lai nodded severely.

“But why would the spirits want to talk to me?”

“I’m not…I’m not sure, but I’m certain it has something to do with this.” Lai reached up and undid the chain hidden under her clothes, placing it around Mitsuko’s neck. “This is yours now. You know where the scrolls are kept, and if you ever find yourself in need of them, you can get them. _Never_ repeat _anything_ said within these walls to anyone else, understood?”

Mitsuko nodded, reaching up to touch the small key. “But if the Fire Nation is in the wrong, then why do you work to help them?”

“Because I don’t want the common person to suffer for the mistakes of their leaders.”

Mitsuko contemplated this, before nodding again. “Does the war have something to do with the decrease in fish yields in the Nuchona Island Province?”

“I believe so, although no-one will tell me.”

They fell into silence, and Mitsuko’s eyes drifted over to the scrolls. For a moment, she considered examining them here and now, but the thought of opening them scared her. It was as if examining them would be sealing her fate as a traitor to the crown.

It also crossed her mind to report this to the Palace, but she banished _that_ as soon as she thought it. It would be a fruitless endeavour.

For now, the knowledge that the information existed was enough for her, and maybe one day, in the far flung future, she would dare to open the hatch in the wall and gaze upon them once again.

She stood, ignoring the sudden flair of pain before it ebbed back into throbbing. “I’ll put them away, then?”

Her mother nodded, standing as well. Once the hatch was locked, its edges seamlessly blending in with the panelling on the wall, and the chair back in it’s place around the table, Lai unlocked the doors. As she did so, she talked.

“There was another reason for me telling you all this.” She said. “The Fire Lord – as I’m sure you know – has decreed that you also attend school. I am certain that you will fly through most of the work, but as I told you, some of what you learn may be not what I have taught you.”

“You want me to be aware of this fact so that I don’t make myself out to be a traitor?”

Lai nodded. “Exactly. You’re a good girl Mitsuko.” She smiled softly, and kissed the top of her head. “Now, off to bed you go, it’s been a long day, and tomorrow I want you to come with me to a morning meeting before you go to get your school supplies with Hema.”

+++++

Mitsuko’s nightdress was far shorter than the one she had been given at the Palace, so she could see the damage of the lighting far better. But that wasn’t what she was thinking about.

It was testimony to what a crazy few days it had been, that having been recently hit by lightning was not what was bothering her most.

She was descended from Airbenders.

Lying on her bed, she spun the small key over in her hand.

The Fire Nation was on the wrong side of the war.

She spun the key over again.

She got hit by lightning. And survived.

Mitsuko sighed.

She reached up and put the chain back on around her neck. Her head hurt, and sleep was beginning to look like a very appealing option.

Maybe everything would be clearer in the morning?


	3. Mitsuko Starts School, Makes A New Friend And Someone Becomes Convinced That They Are In Competition With Her For ... Well, She Doesn't Know Exactly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excitingly, I am posting a new chapter!  
> This is, unfortunately, a bit of a splodge of ideas in one chapter, because I wasn't sure how to link the last two to the rest of the story.   
> But this is it, so far, for Mitsuko - the next few chapters will be from Izuki's point of view, and the last few from Lu Ten's (that is where most of the tags to do with the Fire Nation Royal Family will come into play). And after that, the next two stories will be based in Ba Sing Se, and the Northern Water Tribe.  
> And then we'll get properly into the meat of the AU, and I'm hoping to have some stories based around the Gaang.   
> So, you have that to look forward to!  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Everything was decidedly _not_ clearer in morning.

Her headache returned in full force, which made concentrating on the meeting difficult, which in turn made her irritable when she went shopping with Hema for a school uniform and textbooks.

Supper was tense, as Lai was refusing to mention anything of the previous nights conversation ever again and still had no answers as to what was happening in Nuchona for their fish yields – and indeed, the rest of their agriculture, to a somewhat lesser degree – and Mitsuko’s headache increased.

The next morning, she woke with the sun, her head clear, and in a very good mood. The previous night, Mitsuko had decided to ignore the previous few days, with the exception of meeting the Prince, and the Fire Lord, as she felt _that_ was going to influence her life in the immediate future.

She sat at her vanity table and pulled her hair into the same topknot she had had in her hair during the meeting with the Fire Lord, tying it with a gold ribbon. When she was done, she settled her hand on the top of the dresser, and gazed at her reflection.

The topknot was not as good as her mother’s, but it was serviceable. The scar was visible over the top of her collar, climbing up to the side of her face, creeping just above her jaw.

She rubbed at it gently, and sighed.

Time to get going.

+++++

The school was a large building that sat on the outskirts of the town.

Mitsuko was driven by Takumi, and he left once she had gotten out, leaving her alone at the end of the long drive, in her perfectly pressed uniform and with her perfectly combed hair, clutching her satchel, suddenly and inexplicably terrified.

For the first time, Mitsuko had absolutely no idea what was going to happen.

All her life, she had woken up and known what the day had in store for her. She would get up and clean, and then she would have lessons with Hema or attend meetings with her mother, and at supper, Lai would tell her the schedule for the next day.

But school…school was something completely different.

Here her life would be determined by someone who wasn’t her mother, or herself, and that knowledge petrified her to her very core.

Here she had no control.

She could deal with weaselly politicians, and their simpering spouses. But their children? She wasn’t so sure.

“Hey.”

Mitsuko made a thoroughly undignified squeaking noise, and stumbling backwards in surprise. “Lu Ten!” She exclaimed, standing straighter and biting her lip nervously, and then scolding herself and stopping.

She gave an odd little bow to the Prince, even as she remembered that he had said something about no formalities. Oh yes! Because they were friends, apparently.

He grinned at her.

“Hi Mitsuko.” He offered her an arm. “I’ll show you to the administration office? They always want to know when new students arrive.”

“Do you always come this early?” She asked, accepting the proffered limb.

“Oh yes, it gets really crowded in about half an hour.”

“Do you…I mean…” She blushed, biting the inside of her cheek. “Do you think you could help me out a bit?”

He grinned up at her again. “Absolutely! You said you’d never been to school before.”

Mitsuko took a moment to marvel at how her life had come to this – walking down the driveway of a school, asking the Prince of her _entire country_ advice on how to fit in.

And then she brushed the thought away, focussing instead on Lu Ten, who had begun to explain in detail the entire school day.

+++++

Mitsuko was getting the hang of school by the time lunch time began.

The first lesson of the day had been maths, which she was proud to say she excelled in, getting full marks in the quiz and answering nearly every question the teacher asked.

History – the lesson after – she had stayed quiet in however. Like her mother said, it was very different to what Hema had taught her, so she just stayed quiet and made notes.

Literature was also not something she had really studied under her tutor, and subsequently she found herself struggling in it. It was frankly a bit useless in Mitsuko’s opinion, but she wanted to do well in it, just to prove that she could.

The last lesson before lunch had been etiquette, which, again, Mitsuko breezed through. As did most of the students, as they were all children of nobles and high-up officials, and were taught to be polite as they began to walk and talk.

Of her lessons, she shared two with Lu Ten – maths and history. He had given her an extensive tour of the grounds in the hour or so they had before lessons began, and had sat next to her in both classes that they shared, and looked rather disappointed to part with her before Literature.

Mitsuko glanced around the Dining Hall, clutching the tray with her egg fried rice on with slightly more force than necessary, relaxing when she spotted him at a table in the corner. She glided through the throng, carefully avoiding hitting anyone.

She set herself down opposite him, only then noticing the young person besides him.

“Hi Mitsuko!”

The person raised a hand at Lu Ten’s cheery greeting, although they kept their head down, with their hair obscuring any of their face.

“This is Izuki.” He helpfully supplied, and they nodded. “I sit with them at lunch, although we don’t share any lessons together.”

“Which is simply so terrible.” They said quietly.

Mitsuko was about to be offended on Lu Ten behalf, but then they looked up with a small smile and Lu Ten chuckled.

“You wound me, Izuki!” He said, putting a hand to his forehead and falling against the back of his seat. Mitsuko smothered a smile beneath her hand.

She pretended not to have noticed the tattoos over Izuki’s eyes that marked them out as a Yuyan – or at least a Yuyan-in-training. They had been in her etiquette lesson, hiding in the back of the room, if Mitsuko remembered correctly.

That probably explained why Izuki was sitting alone. And why they weren’t with the rest of the student body, or completely terrified of Lu Ten.

Mitsuko had seen that as they walked down the corridors, people would actively scramble out their way and hush their conversations, as if Lu Ten would do something terrible to them. Which was, in Mitsuko’s most _humble_ opinion, completely stupid. If you spent more than 5 minutes in his presence, you would realise that he was about as capable of hurting someone as a hair ribbon.

He hadn’t seemed that perturbed by it, in actuality, which meant that this had probably been happening all his life.

Mitsuko made a mental note that _that_ needed to change.

“So, where are you from?” Izuki asked. “I’ve heard all the gossip of course, but no-one seems to really know.”

“I’m Minister Ru Lai’s daughter.” She said, taking a bite of the food. “The Fire Lord gave my mother special recompense to teach me at home when I was really little, and decided that I needed to attend a few days ago.”

“Why?”

Mitsuko shrugged. “Like I know what goes on in the Fire Lord’s head.”

“So how was Literature and Etiquette?” Lu Ten asked, and Mitsuko wrinkled her nose.

“Fairly pointless, in my opinion. Not going to help me in the slightest later in life.”

“Really? You don’t like it?”

Izuki rolled her eyes. “He loves literature. Never shuts up about whatever text we’re studying. I’m with you – I make myself forget after we’ve finished with a text.”

Mitsuko gave her an appreciative smile. “It appears you’re outnumbered in your weird appreciation of the subject.”

Lu Ten grumbled slightly under his breath, and Mitsuko’s smile grew.

“Well, you like maths.” He said eventually, as if this trumped her dislike of literature, which it didn’t, because maths was useful and literature wasn’t. Though Izuki seemed to disagree, as they made a face.

“He makes a good point.” They said, and Mitsuko rose an eyebrow as she swallowed her mouthful.

“Please, maths is actually important. Literature however…”

“Is very useful in learning about your culture an how things were perceived by different people and classes throughout the ages.”

Mitsuko pondered this. “I will give you that one. But to me, Maths is more important.”

“Well, I think they both suck!” Izuki said, and that apparently ended the debate.

“Do you do archery for Sports?” Mitsuko asked after the lull in conversation.

Izuki nodded. “The student body might avoid me, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t beat their asses in the competition at the end of each term if I so desire.”

“Nice! Can anyone watch?” Mitsuko asked, before taking a last bite of her food.

“Oh absolutely.” Lu Ten said. “At the end of each term there’s an Exhibition Day, and parents also come. There’s archery, Firebending, gymnastics, sword-fighting, ballet-”

“They do ballet here?” Mitsuko asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Yeah. Do you like it?”

“I love it! I have absolutely _no_ idea why I was ever taught it, but it’s one of my favourite things ever.”

They gave each other a look. And then Izuki shrugged. “Well it’s an option for after lunch. Unless you’re a Firebender, of course?”

Mitsuko shook her head, smiling at the thought of Sports Class.

+++++

“So, how was school?” Lai asked her daughter as she came through the door.

Mitsuko shrugged, dropped her bag on the rack and kicked off her boots.

“Mitsuko?”

Mitsuko didn’t answer, just ran up to her room, without so much as a backwards glance.

+++++

Mitsuko didn’t go down for supper.

She knew it was stupid, but she didn’t want to look at her mother’s pointed stares as they ate. Instead, she lay on her bed, still in her school uniform, and stared at the ceiling.

There was a quiet knock on her door. “Mitsuko?”

Mitsuko didn’t answer, but the door was opened anyway, and Hema slipped through.

Mitsuko turned her head away, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You know, sulking in your room isn’t a very productive use of your time.”

“‘m not hungry.” She mumbled.

“Yes you are.” Hema said, sitting on the end of the bed. “You’re too old to be acting like this. Why don’t we deal with whatever’s bothering you in a more mature way?”

Mitsuko shrugged, still not looking at her ex-tutor.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Mitsuko gestured vaguely at her leg.

“You overdid it, didn’t you?”

Mitsuko nodded, biting her lip. “It didn’t hurt.”

“Ah.” There was a moment of silence. “But that’s not all it is to it, is it?”

“They had ballet as an option for Sports Class.” She said despairingly, turning over so that she could actually see Hema. “And I tripped because I’m more stiff than I anticipated, and then _Ty Sa_ decided that she would ‘help’ me, but just spent the entire time belittling me loudly in front of everyone else. I had to sit through politics listening to people snickering about me behind my back.”

Hema stroked the top of my foot comfortingly. “‘Suko, why does that bother you so much?”

Mitsuko swallowed, but didn’t answer.

“Mitsuko?”

“It’s just mean. There wasn’t even any reason to make fun of me.”

It was a lame excuse, and Hema knew it. She rose an eyebrow. Mitsuko swallowed, and averted her gaze once again.

“The skin is all tight where it’s scarred. I don’t want to end up unable to fight properly.”

“You don’t need to fight with your hands, Mitsuko. In self-defence, of course, but otherwise, your words can hurt just ass badly, and are usually more effective when you’re trying to get something from someone.”

“That’s not the way school sees it.” Mitsuko mumbled, and her tutor tutted.

“And if a politician cared for the opinion of their peers?”

“Then it’s a democracy?”

Mitsuko could feel Hema raising an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean. If you cared for everyone’s opinion you would end up ineffectual. You cannot please everyone.”

“I know that.”

Mitsuko continued to stare at her pillow.

“Come down to supper. Maybe your mother can help you with your problem.”

+++++

The next morning, Mitsuko met with Lu Ten by the gate.

He was as bouncy as ever, and refrained from mentioning how miserable she had been the afternoon before, instead opting to explain to her the entirety of Love Amongst Dragons while they ate the Fire Flakes Lai had given her that morning. Mitsuko had barely ever been to the theatre, and when she had, it had been because her father took her and her mother to see a ballet.

Since he had died, they hadn’t been at all.

So, while Love Amongst Dragons was a particular favourite of many in the Fire Nation, Mitsuko didn’t actually know the plot.

“And then the king finds his daughter-”

“The dead one?”

Lu Ten nodded. “The dead one, and he is distraught-”

“Considering the fact that his wife and best friend have also committed suicide, its not too much of a stretch.”

“Anyway, he-”

“Well, well, if it isn’t the newbie.”

Mitsuko sighed.

“Good morning, Ty Sa.” She said evenly, standing up and dusting of her impeccable uniform.

“You going to cry again?” The other girl, with fake concern, and Mitsuko rose an eyebrow.

“No. I don’t plan on it. You?”

Ty Sa put a hand on her hip. “Ah, more’s the pity. If I looked like that…” She trailed off, giving Mitsuko a scrutinising look. “Well, I wouldn’t want to show myself in public. You’re very brave.”

Mitsuko vaguely thought how Ty Sa wasn’t very good at getting on her nerves. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Mitsuko said, and Ty Sa started, as if she hadn’t been expecting that.

“Excuse me?”

“You have to wear this uniform too. It must be horrible to be reminded of such a fashion failure everywhere you look. And your hair…” Mitsuko tutted, faking disappointment. “Well, I’m sure it speaks for itself.”

There was a giggle from a boy as he walked past, although it was smothered by a hand.

“I’ll see you in Sport.” And then she turned on her heel, gesturing for Lu Ten to follow.

“Is that the girl who made you cry?”

“How did you know that?” Mitsuko asked sharply.

Lu Ten gave her a look. “You really weren’t that good at hiding it.”

Mitsuko huffed as they arrived at their classroom. “Well, it’s maths now, which makes everything better.”

“It’s maths, Mitsuko. I don’t understand how you like it!”

+++++

Ty Sa left her alone during ballet.

While this was positive, Mitsuko did not miss the very pointed glares sent her way, and knew that while Ty Sa had underestimated once, she would not do so again.

While still uncertain as to _why_ Ty Sa had decided to fight her, Mitsuko was still determined to win. But she would wait for her to make the first move.

Meanwhile, word had spread of the fact that Mitsuko had spoken back to Ty Sa, and lived to tell the tale. This was apparently unprecedented, which confused her no end, as it hadn’t really been that difficult.

The rumours, Izuki informed her, while they made tea during an etiquette lesson two weeks after the confrontation, had been getting steadily more and more ridiculous.

“Really?”

Izuki nodded. “Well, you _are_ new to the school, and so people are naturally curious.”

“What are they saying?”

“You once fought a dragon.”

“Have never done that. Never been outside of Caldera, except for the odd excursions to see my Aunt in Kisicho.”

“They are rumours.” Izuki reminded her.

Mitsuko nodded. “That is true. What else are they saying?”

“That you’re secretly a waterbender.”

Mitsuko swallowed. “That one’s false too.” She said airily, feeling guilty, as if somehow she was lying. Which she wasn’t – she _wasn’t_ a waterbender. She wasn’t any type of bender, even if she had airbenders in her ancestry.

Izuki gave her an odd look. “You were blessed by Agni.”

“That one might actually be true.”

Izuki gave her an incredulous look. “Really?”

“A few days before I started school, I met Lu Ten, as you know. I got hit by lightning, during the storm, and when I came to, the healer told me what happened and said that I was blessed by Agni, as no-one survives being hit by lightning.”

“The scar.”

Mitsuko nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence, waiting for the tea to brew.

+++++

Ty Sa’s revenge was not as devious as Mitsuko had been expecting, and her expectations had not been high.

A few days after her conversation with Izuki, Mitsuko was waiting outside the gate for Takumi to arrive. He was late, and the drive was nearly empty, and that was when Ty Sa struck.

“Hello, newbie.” She said, coming up behind her.

“Hello.” Mitsuko replied, keeping her eyes trained on the road.

Ty Sa snorted. “You think you’re so special-”

“I don’t.”

“-coming here, plotting to take power-”

“I’m not.”

“-having the audacity to think you can fight me.”

Mitsuko sighed. “I don’t really want to.” She said, but, as before, Tu Sa ignored her.

“Understand this,” She hissed, “I can so easily get your mother removed from power, and get you sent to the colonies, if you don’t back down. Understood?”

Mitsuko actually turned around, and examined her disbelievingly. “Are you trying to blackmail me?” She asked. “You think you can get your mothers, vaguely unimportant in the grand scheme of things, to remove the Minister of Agriculture, one of the Fire Lords most trusted advisors, from Office? Your parents don’t have that sort of power, I know it, you know it. And for all you’ve managed to throw your weight around school by being petty and abusing what little power you have, that won’t work on me. My mother has dealt with far worse threats than you, and if you try anything, she _does_ have the power to get your family banished, if she so pleased. So back off, Ty Sa.” Mitsuko pulled her hair out of it’s topknot. “I don’t want to be in school. And in whatever little world you’re in, I don’t want power or control over here, and I’m not fighting you. Do what you please, I don’t care! But touch me or my friends and you’re out of here.”

Mitsuko spun around, and marched off down the road, leaving a shocked Ty Sa in her wake. School children, she decided, were petty, and not even petty in a way to gain power, but as a way of solidifying what little power.

She met Takumi once she was out of sight of the school, and he paused in the street to let her up beside him.

“You’re awfully flushed, my Lady.” He remarked as they set of again, and Mitsuko rose a hand to her cheek. It _did_ feel awfully warm under her fingers.

“I got annoyed at someone at school. I should really work on not going red every time.”

She sighed.

Another year and half, and then she could go back to politics, which made far more sense.

+++++

“I’m 15 today.” Mitsuko remarked, as she walked with Lu Ten up the winding driveway, a week before the end of term.

“It’s your birthday, and you didn’t tell me!” Lu Ten sounded vaguely insulted about this.

Mitsuko shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal. Mother and I never really do anything. It was just us, usually, as Father was away on campaign in the Earth Kingdom, and then he was dead.” Mitsuko left it at that.

“I would still liked to have given you something.” He said, quieter than usual, and without the usual verve and aggressive positivity that most of his declarations had.

Mitsuko took his hand and squeezed. It was nice that he understood what it was like to lose a parent.

“Well, you’ll know for next year.”

“And next year you’ll have an actual party because it’ll be your coming of age, and _everyone_ has a party at their coming of age.”

Mitsuko smiles. “Whatever makes you happy.”


	4. Izuki Takes Time To Contemplate Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I am back!  
> To begin with, I would like to apologise in advance. Updates are going to be drastically decreased because I am now not avoiding doing my school work, and so have far less free time in which to write, as I have loads of work. Also, unfortunately, the chapters as you will discover are going to be drastically decreased in size as Izuki is not very chatty, and very straight forward in their thinking, so they don't really go off on tangents.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

_“ Izuki, it’s your 12 th birthday today.”_

_Izuki nodded eagerly, clutching their new bow and quiver full of arrows. They stared up at their fathers, eyes wide and mouth set in a determined line, barely keeping a grin from springing forth._

_“It is now time for you to decide. Will you follow in my footsteps, and join the ranks of the Yuyan Archers?”_

_“Yes Papa!” They said eagerly._

_Izuki had known she would make this decision since she had first seen the Archers training in the grounds._

Izuki let an arrow loose, hitting the rope and pinning it to the centre of the target.

“Again.” Their trainer said, and they reached over to unpin the rope and retrieve the arrows that had dug themselves into their targets as they made their way back to the beginning of the circuit. From the corner of their eyes they could see the rest of their squad watching, waiting for their turn to be drilled.

_“Do you understand that you must forsake all romantic relationships, as decreed by our Fire Lord?”_

_“Yes Papa.”_

On the trainers signal, they silently leapt from the tree branch they started on and drew a trio of arrows. With these, they hit three targets simultaneously, before slipping away.

Draw, hit, run.

Draw, hit run.

The continuous rhythm was simple, and it was relaxing.

They finished again, quicker this time, and the trainer gave them a single nod. They bowed, keeping their face impassive, and joined the line of other trainees, hidden in the shadows.

_“Do you understand that you will serve your country until the day you die?”_

_“Yes Papa.”_

The last trainee finished, and their trainer dismissed them until the first light.

Izuki slung their bow and quiver over their back and walked slowly back to their home. There was a light in their bedroom window, undoubtedly from Jyoti studying for her exams.

Izuki did not care as much as their siblings about school. They did not care that much if they failed an exam, as the Yuyan did not care about trivialities like that. Anything you needed to know was taught in your training, and if Izuki had a choice, they would not go to school.

But alas, the law had decreed that she had to, so for the last 5 years they had had to endure the glances and whispers of their classmates.

As if they didn’t sit unassumingly opposite the lockers of the most gossipy pupils of the student body, and listen in on what exactly they were saying.

Even when they were no longer the centre of student gossip.

Izuki was by no means the only Yuyan child who had gone to the Academy, but most who joined the archers went to some of the smaller schools on the outskirts of Caldera, but for their fathers, that wasn’t enough.

Usha, their elder sister, had been naturally bouncy and genial, and even the uptight and snooty noble children couldn’t help but melt in her presence, and subsequently ignored the tattoos on her face.

But Usha had graduated by the time Izuki was old enough to attend, and her reputation was unable to help them in their own social climbing.

The only upside to school that Izuki could think of, was their friends.

Lu Ten had been her friend since the beginning of their first year, when he had been shunned by the unrelenting terror of the other students, and found his way to their table. They had apparently made his day by not instantly seizing in fear, instead opting to barely acknowledging his presence.

The Prince, apparently incapable of being without company, had taken this to mean they had wanted his companionship, and Izuki hadn’t bothered to correct him. And then, they were actually looking forward to lunch, as it was a bright spot in the day where someone who didn’t care who they were, actually wanted to talk to them.

And then, there was Ru Mitsuko.

To be honest, when she had first sat at their table, Izuki had been rather defensive of the friendship they had with Lu, thinking that she was merely braver than everyone else, and trying to get on the Prince’s good side, but Ru Mitsuko was like a breath of fresh air.

She wasn’t stupid and petty like everyone else in this spirits forsaken school. She _was_ ruthless, however, and took no shit.

Ty Sa, the resident bully and ‘popular’ girl, had thought that making fun of the new girl was the thing to do. About a month after Mitsuko had joined the school, Ty Sa and her mothers left for their home island of Luntu, to replace Ty Sa’s uncle as governor, and said uncle moving to Caldera with his 7 daughters to take up his sister’s ministership.

Of course, the rest of the school didn’t know this, but Mitsuko had been very pleased with herself, telling them all about it on the Friday after the move.

“Isn’t that a bit…you know, mean?” Lu Ten asked, pushing his stew around his plate.

Mitsuko shrugged. “She made fun of me, and tried to use her power to hurt other people. I’m not standing for that, _particularly_ when she got my mother involved. She was a nuisance and a hindrance to my education and the education of others, and I dealt with that.”

Lu Ten still looked unsure.

“I don’t know how the Royal family managed to raise someone so kind hearted, because you need to be ruthless in politics, Lu Ten. Particularly if you are to be Fire Lord one day.”

Lu Ten did not look like he really liked contemplating that.

Mitsuko shared a look with Izuki as he went back to half-heartedly pushing food around, and a moment of solidarity passed between them.

They really needed to help him.


End file.
